Abstract
In the coastal areas of Japan, three species of greenling (Hexagrammos spp.) can hybridize. In a natural reef setting we showed that Hexagrammos agrammus and H. octogrammus established their breeding territories in a shallow area where seaweed was abundant, whereas H. otakii established breeding territories in a deep area that was sparsely covered with seaweed. This difference in habitat use resulted in H. otakii being distributed separately from the other two species, thereby reducing the potential for hybridization. However, all the three species co-occurred in an artificial area near a breakwater. This area is characterized by steep slopes and complex stacked concrete structures, which create a mosaic-habitat consisting of a shallow environment with seaweed and a deep environment with sparse seaweed, allowing the three species to breed within a single area. Our results suggest that man-made structures can create an artificial mosaic-habitat that can disrupt habitat isolation and promote hybridization between species.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Drs. Masakado Kawata, John Bower, Satoshi Awata, Yoko Iwata, Karen Crow, and Ayumi Tezuka for reading this manuscript and providing valuable comments, Drs. H. Yasui, H. Mizuta and T. Kawagoe for advice on the classification of seaweeds, and Dr. S. Mawatari for identification of bryozoans. This work was supported by a grant in aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education.
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Kimura, M.R., Munehara, H. The disruption of habitat isolation among three Hexagrammos species by artificial habitat alterations that create mosaic-habitat. Ecol Res 25, 41–50 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-009-0624-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-009-0624-3